Low head force flow packer



J1me 1965 l. H. STOCKEL ETAL 8 LOW HEAD FORCE FLOW PACKER Filed June 14, 1963 2 Sheet s-Sheet 1 [VA/2 [157-0 CKEL gm v52 1?. FTCHENA'L gfi I IN VEN TORS June 15, 1965 1. H. STOCKEL ETAL 3,189,051

LOW HEAD FORCE FLOW PACKER Filed June 14, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. 1mm? HSTOCKEL.

7/6 O L v52 JP. Framer/v41.

United States Patent 3,189,061 LOW HEAD FORCE FLOW PACKER Ivar H. Stockel, New City, N.Y., and Oliver R. Titchenal, Rumford, R.I., assignors to St. Regis Paper Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 14, 1963, Ser. No. 287,834 8 Claims. (Cl. 141-68) This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Serial No. 810,465, filed May 1, 1959.

This invention pertains to packing equipment of the pneumatic force flow type for packaging loose aggregate materials in containers, such as bags, and provides a low head, force flow packer of novel construction and operation for such applications.

Packers embodying the invention are particularly adapted, among other possible uses, for the packaging of grains, flour, bulk cement as well as granular material such as bird seed or the like, for example.

Packers of the low head force flow type in accordance with the present invention dispense such loose aggregate materials from a bin through a discharge spout and into a packaging container, such as a paper bag, by the injection of gas, such as air, under pressure into the bin. The bin, except for the spout outlet, is sealed against the atmosphere during the discharge process so that the material is forcefully discharged through the spout means by the pressurized air flow either with or without fluidization of the material.

A feature of the present invention resides in change in densification of the divided material being discharged. Thus, when packing pulverulent material such as flour or cement, the material is changed from its normal and relatively unflowable state into a fluidized and easily flowable condition, and by virtue of the pneumatic pressure in the bin itself, is forced through the portion of the bin which is adjacent the bag filling spout and thence through the spout and into the container.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the amount of material as measured by weight that can be packaged per bag. Due to the increased densification of the divided material, more material can be packaged per bag, a factor which results in shorter bags as well as easier filling. This is an extremely desirable characteristic having considerable commercial importance. Moreover, such operation increases the speed of packaging as well as providing greater ease of installation.

Another feature of this invention resides in the utilization of air pressure as a cut-off device. When packing some materials such as bird seed or the like granular material, for example, the usual, mechanical spout cutoff device may be entirely dispensed with and the discharge flow of such material terminated entirely by terminating the flow of air under pressure to the bin.

A further feature of this invention resides in the alternative utilization of a vent valve as a cut-off device. When packaging certain materials it has been found that by quickly venting the bin, the flow of material from the bin to a bag can be stopped or cut ofi substantially simultaneously with actuation of the vent valve. In such cases it is unnecessary to provide a filling spout, mechanical cut-ofl' mechanism. Of course, such mechanical cut-off for the spout may be retained for use during clean-out of the bin, in which case it can be manually operable.

There has thus been outlined rather broadly the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be 3,189,061 Patented June 15, 1965 described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Several specific embodiments of the invention have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and are shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in longitudinal section of a low head force flow packer constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, and partly in longitudinal section, of another embodiment of a force flow packer in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, partially broken away, to reveal the interior of the bin of still another embodiment of a force flow packer.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows a low head force flow packer 10 comprising a bin or container 12 which is adapted to contain pulverulent material during operation. In the preferred embodiment the bin 12 assumes an upstanding elongated cylindrical configuration. Positioned above the bin 12 is a supply bin 14 which contains a supply of the material to be packed, and interposed between the supply bin 14 and the bin 12 is a feed gate or valve 16, which is shown in a closed horizontal position by the solid lines and is shown in an open position by the broken lines in FIG. 1. It should be noted that the feed gate 16 is capable of closing and sealing the bin 12 in such a manner that the bin can be subjected to internal gas pressure, as by air, for the purpose of aiding in forcing the fluidized pulverulent material out of the bin. Positioned in the upper portion of the bin 12 is a filling tube 18 which extends through the side wall 19 of the bin 12 and is connected to a spout 22 by a flexible coupling 20. The spout 22 is inserted in the sleeve of a valve sleeve type bag 24, the bag being secured to the spout by releasable clamp 26 which may be pneumatically, electrically or otherwise actuated. The other end of the filling tube 18 is connected to a down conduit 28 which extends from the upper portion of the bin 12 to a point near the lower region of the bin as shown in FIG. 1. The lower portion of the down conduit 28 expands into a bell-shaped opening 30 at the bottom thereof. Further, the down tube conduit 28 is provided with an inflatable internal annular bladder 32 which controls the flow of divided material upwardly from the bottom of the bin, out the filling tube 18 and into the bag 24. That is, the bladder 32 is such that it may be pneumatically expanded so that it cuts off the flow of material therethrough. Alternatively a releasable clamp may be provided about the flexible coupling 20 in order to control the flow of pulverulent material.

The bottom of the bin 12 is provided with an air pervious membrane or pad 17 which extends completely across the bottom portion of the bin and is mounted overlying an air chamber 36 to which air is supplied under pressure from supply line 40 via pipe line 3 8. It should be noted that the pad 17 may be either horizontally or obliquely disposed, as desired. Line 38 contains an adjusting valve 42 for regulating the flow of air to the air chamber 36 to the desired volume.

The air supply line 40 not only supplies air under pressure for the air chamber 36, but it also supplies air under pressure for a tubular disseminator 48. Thus.

a; one end of a pipe line 44 is connected to the supply line 40 and the other end thereof passes through the wall 46 of the bin 12 to connect to the top of the disseminator 48. Interposed in the line 44 is a valve 43 for controlling the flow of air therethrough.

The disseminator 48 is fabricated from sheet material, plastic or the like, and in this embodiment assumes a pipe-like configuration surrounding the down conduit 28. The cylindrical wall portion of the disseminator 48 is provided with a series of holes, as at 50, disposed wtherealong and thereabout, for disseminating air or other gas under pressure into the bin 12.

Still referring to FIG. 1, a bag chair 52 and post 54 are provided for supporting the bag 24 during the filling operation. However, other suitable means may be employed, if desired.

in operation pulverulent material is fed from supply bin 14 through gate 16 when said gate is in an open position and depositing such material in bin 1 2. Gate 16 is then moved to its closed position and air under pressure is directed into bin 12 through the pipe lines 38 and 44. The pulverulent material is changed from its normal and relatively uniiowable state into a fluidized or easily flowable condition by virtue of the air that passes through the fluidizing air pad 17, so that it can flow somewhat in the nature of a liquid, and due to the supplemental air pressure within the bin 12 supplied by the disseminator 48, the material is forced upwardly through conduit 28 after valve 32 or that at 20, has been moved to its open position. Hence, the material flows upwardly in conduit 28 through infeed conduit 1 3 to the filling spout 22 from whence it is deposited into the valve bag 24.

In a specific embodiment of the apparatus operated in accordance with the invention as above described, the material being packed was flour, wherein it was found that approximately more material by weight could be filled in the same size bag than was possible with prior art force flow packers.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a further modi fication of a low head force flow packer according to the invention and comprising a base 66 which supports a bin 62 having a circular or polygonal cross-sectional configuration, as desired. A supply bin 63 is disposed above the bin 62 and is interconnected therewith by a neck portion or inlet 64. Closing the upper end of the bin 62 is a cover 66 which contains an aperture 65 for the inlet 64. A valve or feed gate 68 is centrally disposed within the supply inlet 64 and functions in a manner similar to feed gate 16 previously described.

Air under pressure is supplied from pipe line 70 7 through three-way valve 7 2 to inlet pipe line 74 which passes throughthe wall 76 of the bin 62. The third way of valve 72 is positionable for connecting the pipe line 74 either to a pressure line 76 extending to a source of compressed air, or alternatively to an atmospheric exhaust outlet 75. The other end of the inlet pipe 74 g is connected to the top of an air, or other gas, disseminator 78 which preferably is centrally disposed within the thin 62. Disseminator 7 8 and disseminator 48 are similar except that acon-duit does not pass through the central portion of disseminator 78.

A discharge or dispensing outlet 36 is provided at the base of bin 62, and connected thereto is a pipe elbow '82 which connects to a riser conduit 84. Such conduit extends vertically substantially the length of the bin 62 and at the top thereof is connected to a bag filling spout '90 by means of a pipe elbow 86 and a flexible coupling =A releasable clamp 94 is disposed about the flexible coupling 88 and may be pinched to mechanically close the conduit to terminate the flow of material therethrough. A releasable clamp 92 is provided for securing a valve bag 93 to the spout 90 during the filling operation. Such a clamp may be pneumatically, mechanically :or electrically actuated as desired. A bag chair designated generally at 96 is provided which func tions in cooperation with a post 93 for supporting and weighing the valve bags, such as 93, which are to be packed with the low head force flow pack r disclosed herein. Satisfactory means for weighing the valve bags are set forth in the aforementioned copending appllcation Serial Number 810,465.

In operation gate 68 is moved into its open position and divided material flows downwardly from the supply bin 63 through the inlet 64 to the bin 62. After sufficient material has passed into the bin 62, gate 68 is closed and valve 72 is moved to its open osition so that air under pressure passes from the supply line 70, through pipe line 74 and through the disseminator 78 to lluidize the material contained within the bin 62. Attention is directed to the fact that air may be introduced into the disseminator at a sufliciently high flow rate to provide complete fluidiza-tion of the material within the bin 62 with-out adversely affecting the discharge of material from the spout 94 Thus, the material passing up the conduit 64 is compressed therein so that when it is discharged from the spout 96 it is in a compact state. After a valve bag 93 has been place in position over the spout '90 and clamped thereto by means of clamp 92, the clamp 94 is released in order to allow for the flow of material outwardly through the spout .into the valve bag. When the valve bag is filled, the clamp 94 is again pinched in order to terminate the flow of material through the flexible coupling 88 and a new bag 93 is placed under the discharge spout 9i The clamp 94 may be dispensed with when packing certain materials as will be described more fully hereinafter.

It is to be pointed out that force flow packers constructed in accordance with this invention may be of either the batch infeed type or the continuous infeed type. In the batch infeed type, the gate valve 68 is intermittently opened to permit the flow of material from the storage bin 63 into the bin 6-2, as required. With the continuous type of force flow packer, the valve 6-8 is of a type, such as a star valve or the like, which provides a continuous feed of material from the supply bin 63 to the bin 62 even though bin 62 is intermittently under air pressure.

- Attention is invited to the fact that the force flow packer shown in FIG. 2 could be provided with a primary fluidizing air pad mounted adjacent the bin discharge outlet-St), if desired, such as that shown at .17 in FIG. 1, for use with certain types of materials which require added fluidizing in order to obtain the desired flow consistency thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown. in accordance with a further modification of the invention, a force flow packer designated generally at- 1%. Packer 100 com: prises a closed bin 16 2 which received material from a storage bin 164 positioned thereabove through inlet conduit 106 interposed therebetween. A shut-off or gate valve 108 is interposed. in the inlet conduit 106 for purposes of controlling the flow of material. The bottom of the bin 102 may be provided with a fluidizing air pad 110 which'is backed-up by an air chamber 112. Pressurized air is supplied to the air chamber from a supply source :114 through a control valve 116. 'Disposed above the primary air pad 116 there is a secondary air dispenser in the form of a tubular disseminator 118 which is shown as fabricated from a series of elongated tubular sections 120 interconnected one to the next. At the top ofthe disseminator 118 is a series of interconnected pipe fittings including a nipple 122, an elbow 124, a flanged fitting 127, and a control valve 128. Thus, disseminator 118 is connected to pressurized air supply line 126. It is to be noted that sources 114 and 126 may be interconnected, if desired. i

Adjacent the lower portion of the bin 162 is a discharge outlet 130. A flexible coupling 132 connects the outlet to a spout 1 34 which is inserted in the sleeve of a valve sleeve type bag (not shown). A releasable clamp 136 is provided for securing such a bag to the spout 134 during the filling operation.

As has already been mentioned, the invention contemplates the utilization of a vent valve in bins of the enclosed type. Accordingly, a pipe 138 containing a valve 149 extends from a boss 14-2 on the side wall of the bin 102 and extends upwardly to a suitable level in the supply bin or hopper 104. Thus, pipe line 138 returns any material,

that may pass out of the bin due to venting, back into the system Without involving waste. However, the pipe 138 may terminate in the atmosphere in lieu of terminating in the supply bin 104, if desired.

An important part of the present contribution resides in the utilization of air pressure for controlling the flow of material through the spout and thereby eliminating the use of conventional cut-off means. In operation, when packing such material as bird seed or the like granular material, the fluidizing air flow from the primary air pad 110 is controlled by the valve 116 and the supplemental air flow from the disseminator 118 is controlled by the valve 128. Alternatively, air supply sources 114 and 126 may be interconnected and the flow of air controlled by means of one valve interposed in a common air supply pipe line. When air is supplied to the bin from the above two sources then the material contained within the bin flows through the discharge outlet 130, through the flexible coupling 132 and is discharged from the spout 134 into a sleeve type bag. When the valves 116 and 128 are in their closed posit-ion and no air flows into the bin 162, then the flow of material from the bin 102 terminates and no material is dispensed from the spout 134-. Thus, it is seen that for packaging certain granular materials when the air flow has been terminated, flow of the granular material through spout 1 34 is also terminated without necessity for actuating the pinch clamp 136. This same operation may also be obtained by venting the bin 102 to atmosphere through vent valve 140 to terminate the filling cycle. Also, some types of materials do not require fluidization during the packing operation, so that the fluidizin'g air pad 110 may be eliminated.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, it should be pointed out that when packing certain materials such as bird seed or the like granular material, for example, the bladder 32 in FIG. 1 and the clamp 9 in :FIG. 2 may be dis pensed with. That is, referring to the packer in PIGv 1, the bladder 32 may be dispensed with and control of the flow of material through spout 22 is elfected by controlling one or both of the air supply means 34 or 48 in the bin 12. Thus, the flow of material out of the spout 22 is controlled solely by the air pressure in the bin 12. Since the filling tube 18 and the spout 22 are positioned near the top of the bin 12, the column of material contained within the conduit 28 assists in terminating the flow of material from the spout 22 when the air supply to the .bin 12 is terminate-d.

Referring now to FIG. 2, when packing certain materials the clamp 94 may be dispensed with and the flow of material passing out the discharge spout 90 is controlled by means of the valve 72. Thus, in operation gate 68 is opened, material flows from bin 63 down into bin 6-2 which is subjected to atmospheric pressure at the time. The gate 68 is then closed, a valve bag is placed onto spout 90 and clamped thereto by means of clamp 92, and valve 72 is then turned to its open position whereby air under pressure from supply line 70 passes therethrough and is discharged from the disseminator 78 so that the bin 62 is subjected to internal pressure. The material then passes through the outlet 80 via elbow 82 to the conduit 84, from whence it passes through elbow 86 to the flexible coupling 88, and to the spout 9t), and thence to the valve bag. When the valve bag has been filled, the air supply valve 72 is turned either to the closed position to shut off air pressure to line 74 or alternatively is turned to the position venting line 74 to atmospheric exhaust at 75.

The latter alternative reduces the time necessary for ventnig the bin 62 and thereby reduces the lag time between termination of air dissemination and the termination of the flow of material through the spout 90. Moreover, the bag is thereby enabled to vent back through the bin, thus giving a quick, clean operation. When the filled valve bag has been removed from the spout 9t) and a new empty bag has been secured thereto, the operating procedure is again repeated.

Although certain particular embodiments of the invention are herein disclosed for purposes of explanation, various modifications thereof, after study of this specification, will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. Reference should accordingly be had to the appended claims in determining the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for dispensing divided material, comprising: an elongated, vertically disposed bin having an upper receiving inlet and releasable closure means therefor, a conduit having one end thereof in communication with the base of said bin, said conduit extending upward substantially parallel in said bin and having the other end thereof disposed adjacent the upper portion of said bin, said upper portion of said conduit being disposed substantially perpendicularly to the side Walls of said bin, a bag filling spout communicating with the upper portion of said conduit, means for injecting air under pressure into said bin for dispensing said material therefrom through said conduit, means for terminating such injec tion of air and venting said bin to terminate the flow of material through said filling spout.

2. Apparatus for dispensing divided material, comprising: an elongated, closed and vertically disposed bin having an upper receiving inlet and releasable closure means therefor, a conduit disposed within the bin having the axis thereof in parallel relation to the axis of said bin, one end of said conduit being disposed near the base of said bin and an upper portion of said conduit being disposed substantially perpendicular to the axis of said bin, such upper portion protruding from the bin to provide a bag filling spout, means for introducing air under pressure into the bin adjacent the base thereof, an elongated vertically extending upper air disseminator for introducing secondary air under pressure into said bin, and means for controlling the air flow into said bin whereby the flow of material from said filling spout is controlled thereby.

3. Apparatus for dispensing divided material, comprising: an elongated, vertical bin having an upper receiving inlet and releasable closure means therefor, a conduit disposed within the bin and having an open end thereof located near the bottom of said bin, the axis of said conduit extending substantially parallel to the axis of said bin, an upper portion of said conduit being disposed substantially perpendicular to such axis, such upper portion protruding from the bin to provide a bag filling spout, means for introducing air under pressure into the bin for dispensing said material therefrom through said conduit and filling spout, means for controlling the flow of air into said bin whereby the flow of material through said filling spout is thereby controlled, said means for introducing air into the bin comprising a tubular, perforated air disseminator disposed about said conduit.

4. Apparatus for dispensing divided material, comprising: an elongated closed bin having an upper receiving inlet and closure means therefor, a conduit disposed within said bin having an enlarged bell-shaped opening disposed adjacent the base of the bin, such conduit extending substantially vertically within the bin and having an upper portion thereof protruding from the bin to provide a bag filling spout, means for injecting air under pressure into said bin for dispensing said material therefrom through said conduit, pneumatically inflatable bladder valve means disposed in the bell-shaped opening of said conduit for controlling the flow of material therethrough.

Apparatus for dispensing divided material, comprising: an elongated closed dispensing bin having an upper receiving inlet, a conduit disposed within said bin having one end thereof adjacent the bottom of the bin, such conduit extending substantially vertically within the bin and having an upper portion thereof substantially perpendicular to such vertical portion, said upper portion protruding from the bin, a bag filling spout, a flexible coupling interconnecting said upper portion and said bag filling spout to permit weighing movement of the bag filling spout, a first means for introducing air into said bin comprising an air pervious pad in the bottom of said bin, an air chamber disposed below said pad and communicating with an air supply source, secondary means for introducing air into said bin comprising an elongated tubular, perforated disseminator disposed about said conduit and in communication with air supply means, valve means for controlling the supply of air to said first and second means for introducing air, and valve means disposed in the lower portion of said conduit for controlling the flow of material therethrough.

6. Apparatus for dispensing divided material, comprising: a closed dispensing bin having an upper receiving inlet and releasable closure means therefor, a lower dispensing outlet for said bin, a conduit having one end thereof connected to said outlet and extending substantially vertically, the upper end of said conduit being disposed substantially perpendicularly to such vertical portion, a bag filling spout, a flexible coupling interconnecting said upper portion with said bag filling spout to permit weighing movement of the bag filling spout, means for injecting air under pressure into said bin for dispensing said material therefrom through said conduit, a vent valve for venting the air Within said bin, and control means for controlling the air pressure Within said bin for controlling the flow of material from said bin.

7. Apparatus for dispensing bird seed or the like granu lar material, comprising: 'a closed'bin having an upper receiving inlet and closure means therefor, a lower dis pensing outlet for said bin, a bag filling spout connected to said outlet, means for injecting air under pressure into said bin for dispensing said material therefrom through said spout, said outlet being of reduced dimensions such that during air pressurization said material flows therethrough and when such pressurization is terminated the flow of said material is terminated.

8. Apparatus for dispensing divided material, comprising: a closed bin having an upper receiving inlet and releasable closure means therefor, a lower dispensing outlet, a bag filling spout, a flexible coupling interconnecting said outlet and saidbag filling spout to permit Weighing movement of the bag filling spout, inclined pad means for injecting fiuidizing air under pressure into said bin disposed adjacent said outlet, a secondary air disseminator situated above said air pad, control means for'said air pad and said air disseminator, said outlet being of dimensions such that when pressurized air is supplied to said pad and disseminator said material is dispensed through said spout and the material flow terminated upon termination of said air supply.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,972,026 8/34 Miller 141--68 X 2,124,018 7/38 Vogel-Jorgen'sen 30253 2,221,741 I 11/40 Vogel-Jorgensen 30253 2,255,438 9/41 Robinson 30253 2,559,634 7/51 Keefe et al. 30253 X 2,770,439 11/56 Stafford et al 141-68 X 2,924,489 2/60 Beckmann 30253 2 2,936,994 5/60 Lau 141-68 X LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING DIVIDED MATERIAL, COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED, VERTICAL DISPOSED BIN HAVING AN UPPER RECEIVING INLET AND RELEASABLE CLOSURE MEANS THEREFOR, A CONDUIT HAVING ONE END THEREOF IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE BASE OF SAID BIN, SAID CONDUIT EXTENDING UPWARD SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL IN SAID BIN AND HAVING THE OUTER SUBTHEREOF DISPOSED ADJACENT THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID BIN, SAID UPPER PORTION OF SAID CONDUIT BEING DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE SIDE WALLS OF SAID BIN, A BAG FILLING SPOUT COMMUNICATING WITH THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID CONDUIT, MEANS FOR INJECTING AIR UNDER PRESSURE INTO SAID BIN FOR DISPENSING SAID MATERIAL THEREFROM THROUGH SAID CONDUIT, MEANS FOR TERMINATING SUCH INJECTION OF AIR AND VENTING SAID BIN TO TERMINTE THE FLOW OF MATERIAL THROUGH SAID FILLING SPOUT.
 7. APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING BIRD SEED OR THE LIKE GRANULAR MATERIAL, COMPRISING: A CLOSED BIN HAVING AN UPPER RECEIVING INLET AND CLOSURE MEANS THEREFOR, A LOWER DISPENSING OUTLET FOR SAID BIN, A BAG FILLING SPOUT CONNECTED TO SAID OUTLET, MEANS FOR INJECTING AIR UNDER PRESSURE INTO SAID BIN FOR DISPENSING SAID MATERIAL THEREFROM THROUGH SAID SPOUT, SAID OUTLET BEING OF REDUCED DIMENSIONS SUCH THAT DURING AIR PRESSURIZATION SAID MATERIAL FLOWS THERETHROUGH AND WHEN SUCH PRESSURIZATION IS TERMINATED THE FLOW OF SAID MATERIAL IS TERMINATED. 